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Morgan could sense that something was off, even when he tried to reassure himself that everything was fine.
He was plenty happy – and perhaps also a bit jealous – for Chuck and his on-again off-again relationship with Sarah. For the most part, she seemed to make Chuck happy, and that was all that Morgan should need. He kept telling himself that, ignoring the small part that said what about me?
Chuck and Sarah were the perfect couple, always spending time together and whispering in each other’s’ ears. This was all well and good, but it meant that Morgan, who had been Chuck’s best friend for practically their whole lives, was taking a backseat. At first, despite the abruptness, he understood – a new relationship is exciting. But after the first few months, it began to weigh on him, and by the time they were heading into their second year he couldn’t help feeling….alone.
For much of their life, Morgan and Chuck had come as a pair. They were each other’s best friends, they shared everything – secrets, snacks, even socks on emergency occasions. Morgan had always assumed that Chuck would eventually find some nice girl and settle down, but somehow that had never seemed particularly real or relevant.
In Morgan’s vague, imaginary future, it was Morgan & Chuck, with their hypothetical wives somewhere in the background. Possible enjoying the pool of their shared backyard. Plenty of people claimed to love their friends, but Morgan wasn’t a fool – he was aware that what he had with Chuck was unique. He loved him, of course, because that’s what best friends do. But normal friends might have had some reservations at the level of closeness they shared, not that what normal people did ever particularly swayed Morgan.
As Chuck and Sarah’s relationship continued, so too did Morgan’s periodic comments about being roommates with Chuck. It was his little personal reassurance that no matter what, they would be together – best friends till the end and all that. In his perfect future, Morgan and Chuck were roommates (or neighbors at the very least), worked in the same place, watched the same movies.
There was a small part of Morgan that worried he was too much; too intense, too needy for Chuck. Wanting more than a proper friend was supposed to. But Chuck had always seemed to share an enthusiasm for these ideas, buying them matching t-shirts and suggesting a slide from their deck to their pool (once they bought a house and pool, of course).
Now though, with Sarah in the picture, this ideal future was seeming more and more far-fetched. Morgan could feel his friendship with Chuck stretching thin, like a piece of over-warm taffy. Chuck seemed so focused on Sarah, and despite the logical side of him that was happy for his friend, there was part of Morgan that stung with hurt every time he was brushed aside casually because Sarah demanded Chuck’s attention. Best friends weren’t supposed to be jealous of girlfriends, yet Morgan found that part of himself couldn’t help mutinously muttering I was here first. Maybe this was just the new normal, and Morgan would have to get used to it. Although it seemed less likely by the day, Morgan desperately hoped that somehow their weird three-person dynamic would stabilize and become “Chuck & Morgan and Chuck & Sarah”, instead of the current “Chuck & Sarah, and Morgan”. Maybe, somehow, he would get his best friend back so they could go back to sharing their future and their French fries.